MENTAL EQUIVALENTS
By Ernest Holmes
The Prayer of Faith
"No class of people on earth believes more in prayer than we do. Our whole theory is based not only on the belief in Spirit, but in the availability of It - Its immediate response. We even go so far as to say in everyday language: "Pray right and God cannot help responding" This is as far as anyone can go in faith. There is no confusion in the approach to Reality. It should be calm and dispassionate but filled with feeling because feeling and emotion are creative. We should combine the letter and the spirit of the Law.
Faith is the power of prayer. Now what is faith? When you analyze faith you find that it is a mental attitude against which there is no longer any contradiction in the mind that entertains it. Unfortunately, we find there is great faith in fear. Faith in the fear that one may lose his position; faith in the fear that one may lose material possessions; faith in the fear that one may lose his health, and so on.
If the mental attitude is in relationship to God, that is faith in God. If it is in relationship to one's ability to write a poem, that is faith in one's creative ability. FAITH IS A MENTAL ATTITUDE WHICH IS SO CONVINCED OF ITS OWN IDEA - WHICH SO COMPLETELY ACCEPTS IT - THAT ANY CONTRADICTION IS UNTHINKABLE AND IMPOSSIBLE. Before such a mental attitude can be created, there must be nothing left in the subjective state of our thought which contradicts our objective affirmation.
Faith is mental assertion elevated to the plane of realization. It is beyond the mere quibbling or mumbling of words for it identifies itself with Reality in such a manner that Reality becomes real to the believer. The Invisible becomes visible to the mind, and the unseen real.
Faith is real to the one who experiences it and cannot be denied to the mind of the one who has proven it. And what is this faith we should have? We should have faith that there is but One Mind. This Mind is both the Mind of man and the Mind of God. We use the Mind of God since there is but One Mind. This Mind is the essence of creativeness and the essence of goodness. It is available to all. It is no respecter of persons since It has already incarnated through all. It is in all and through all. Faith will not be denied, will not take no for an answer. It speaks an affirmative language. Faith knows that the universe is a Spiritual System, that man is part of this system. It knows that man's environment is also a part of this System. Because the system is perfect the condition may become perfect, and would be perfect it if were known to be so. Faith knows that the life of Man is God, the birthless and the deathless Reality of all Being.
Faith looks to the invisible and instead of seeing a void it fastens its gaze upon a solid reality. Faith is not hope, it is Substance. It does not look away from itself, being Substance it looks within itself. In doing this it realizes that the life of God is also the life of man. Faith affirms this and denies anything and everything that contradicts what to it is the supreme fact of existence.
Faith is essential to effective mental treatment, but this faith should be one of understanding. So faith may be said to be scientific, that is, we are now dealing with a Principle that has been defined and we know something about the way It works. We know how to use the Law governing It. Faith in this Law helps us to use our understanding with greater conviction."
By Ernest Holmes
The Prayer of Faith
"No class of people on earth believes more in prayer than we do. Our whole theory is based not only on the belief in Spirit, but in the availability of It - Its immediate response. We even go so far as to say in everyday language: "Pray right and God cannot help responding" This is as far as anyone can go in faith. There is no confusion in the approach to Reality. It should be calm and dispassionate but filled with feeling because feeling and emotion are creative. We should combine the letter and the spirit of the Law.
Faith is the power of prayer. Now what is faith? When you analyze faith you find that it is a mental attitude against which there is no longer any contradiction in the mind that entertains it. Unfortunately, we find there is great faith in fear. Faith in the fear that one may lose his position; faith in the fear that one may lose material possessions; faith in the fear that one may lose his health, and so on.
If the mental attitude is in relationship to God, that is faith in God. If it is in relationship to one's ability to write a poem, that is faith in one's creative ability. FAITH IS A MENTAL ATTITUDE WHICH IS SO CONVINCED OF ITS OWN IDEA - WHICH SO COMPLETELY ACCEPTS IT - THAT ANY CONTRADICTION IS UNTHINKABLE AND IMPOSSIBLE. Before such a mental attitude can be created, there must be nothing left in the subjective state of our thought which contradicts our objective affirmation.
Faith is mental assertion elevated to the plane of realization. It is beyond the mere quibbling or mumbling of words for it identifies itself with Reality in such a manner that Reality becomes real to the believer. The Invisible becomes visible to the mind, and the unseen real.
Faith is real to the one who experiences it and cannot be denied to the mind of the one who has proven it. And what is this faith we should have? We should have faith that there is but One Mind. This Mind is both the Mind of man and the Mind of God. We use the Mind of God since there is but One Mind. This Mind is the essence of creativeness and the essence of goodness. It is available to all. It is no respecter of persons since It has already incarnated through all. It is in all and through all. Faith will not be denied, will not take no for an answer. It speaks an affirmative language. Faith knows that the universe is a Spiritual System, that man is part of this system. It knows that man's environment is also a part of this System. Because the system is perfect the condition may become perfect, and would be perfect it if were known to be so. Faith knows that the life of Man is God, the birthless and the deathless Reality of all Being.
Faith looks to the invisible and instead of seeing a void it fastens its gaze upon a solid reality. Faith is not hope, it is Substance. It does not look away from itself, being Substance it looks within itself. In doing this it realizes that the life of God is also the life of man. Faith affirms this and denies anything and everything that contradicts what to it is the supreme fact of existence.
Faith is essential to effective mental treatment, but this faith should be one of understanding. So faith may be said to be scientific, that is, we are now dealing with a Principle that has been defined and we know something about the way It works. We know how to use the Law governing It. Faith in this Law helps us to use our understanding with greater conviction."
No comments:
Post a Comment